amusement bide



Sept. 19, 1939 H. WITT AMUSEMENT RIDE Filed Jan. 15, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet l WITNESSES INVE NTOR J-[Ezwrj wait 7 BY ATTORNEYS Sept. 19, 1939. H. WlTT AMUSEMENT RIDE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 19, 1939. H. 'WITT AMUSEMENT RIDE Filed Jan. 13. 1938 S'Sheets-Sheet {5 INVENTOR vw% 4 m E g N w I... hm mm? mm Qm m h m\ M \N Mb 9n QM, wv *0 mm ow mm 9v 8 9% R a xv in mm 7 m m h a W E n m w Mar)? 205% I MWW ATTO RNEYS Sept. 19, 1939. H. WITT AMUSEMENT RIDE s Sheets-Shet 4 Filed Jan. 13, 1938 S E 5 S N H. W

Sept. 19, 1939.

Filed Jan. 13, 1938 H. WITT AMUSEMENT RIDE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 BY A. iwld ATTORNEYS 55, shown in Fig. 7;

Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNITEDFISITVFATFES.

.AMUSEMENT RIDE Harry Witt, NewRochell e, N. Y., assignor toiAtlas Appliance Corporation, Brooklyn, j N -Y.; a, corporation of New York Application Januar 12', 193 8..SerialtNo..18 i, 721

11 Clarit This invention relates to amusement devices and particularly to an amusement ride. the object being to provide a construction which will easily grasp and easily release'a vehicle to be projected over a given runway or course during the operation of the ride.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved ride wherein there is provided afloor space, a number of vehicles adapted tomove over the floor space, and a rotating and revolving projector for projecting thevehicles over -'a part of the floor space from time to timeduring the playing of the game- A further object of the invention is 'to' provide in a ride a latch mechanism for connecting thevehicle to a propelling or projecting structure whereby the vehicle may be released at a desired point.

A further object, more specifically, isto provide in .a ride a latch for connecting avehicle to a rotatable impeller or projector with the parts so formed that the catch or latch is locked either in an operative or inoperative. position whereby the vehicle can not accidentally be disengaged. An additional object is to provide in anamuse- 'ment ride a latch mechanism for connecting a vehicle with a projecting device together with manually actuated means for releasing the latch at a desired point so that the successive vehicles. being projected will all travel in the samedirec-z 'tion over a given runway. In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the complete ride position for use;

view of the projector shown in Fig. 1 with a vehicle connected therewith;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View on a slightly enlarged scale to that shown in Fig. 1 with a vehicle and .associated parts shown in operative association "therewith;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view ,of the left'hand.

part of Fig. 3 with the manually actuated release in releasing position; a

tion. .l. .:11, Fig. 6 is a top plan view of thestructure shown .in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the release mechanism:

shown in Fig. 4, the same looking at the mechanism from the right in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is an edge viewof therelease. mechanism release Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentaryltop plan- Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view the left hand part of Fig. 3 with the latch lever and associated parts in a full functioningposi-g (Cl. 104-' 53) j 1 I v V Fig. 9 is a top' plan view of the release mechan-ism shown. in Fig; 7.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numeralsJlindicates a floor space which is divided.into. an arena or circular platform 2 and 5 inbne-YdiI'ectiOn the next vehicle 5 approaching the s'runway twill b'e-relea'sed. Before the next vehicle-can be released it will be necessary to move thelever 9 back to its starting point.

As 'shownzin Fig. 1, there is provided a loading platform l0 and an unloading plaform l I. Any

suitable-stoppingor braking mechanism may be provided at pointl-2 so that the cars or vehicles are stopped before they reach the circular platform-.2. After a carhas been loaded it is moved manually-overonto the-platform'i and as it approaches'one of the projecting arms 15 it will automatically couple'itself toithe arm. It will be understood that the projector 4 is stationary atxthis time'bPreferably after one-car has been coupled as described the rotated until the next arm I5 is in position for receiving the next-filled car. Preferably this action is continued until each of the projecting arms- 15 havebeen provided with a car or vehicle; When thi's has occurredthe operator on platform: 8 will actuate the control lever 16 and start .the..-projector 4 so that 'it-willrotate at a comparatively high rate of speed. .When the desired speedhas been attained the operator shifts the lever .9;so that the, first car will be unlatched 40 orjzdisengagedat theproper point whereby it willbeprojectedalongthe runway 3. The unlatching mechanism is then resetv and at a second desired time the unlatching mechanism is pe a dxi proj ting another car. arrie Qut..unti ....a1 iythefi d a v been projected. 'lhe run way t may beof any desired kind and-niay be -cover ed or uncovered as de- The pro ector number of-projecting arms i5 and a number of bracing arnis" 11, all of which are connected to ajcentr al t'u bular journal l8 as shown in Fig. 3. Also'the's'e arms are connected together by suitable' bracing I9 "at or adjacent their outer 55 time so that they 10 projector is moved or 39 This is v is preferably formed with a 50.

ends. A propelling internally geared ring 20 (Fig. 3) is secured to the various arms l5 and 11-. A pinion 2| is continually in mesh with the internally geared ring and is connected through a suitable shaft to a beveled gear 22 which is in mesh with beveled gear 23. A shaft 24 is connected with beveled gear 23 and with a suitable prime mover, as for instance an electric motor 25 which functions to drive the various parts. The control lever 16 is adapted to turn on and of]? the current to motor 25 so as to control the.

action thereof. The various parts just described are supported upon suitable framework 26. which may be of any desired kind- A shaft or rod.2'l is carried by the post I8 and supports :a bracket 28 whereby the anchoring or bracing links 29 may act to support the outer or peripheral part of the projector. Preferably a bracket. 30 for :eachv arm is rigidly secured in place and also connected with the respective links 29. The parts just described have been shown in the drawings as one embodiment of the invention, but. it willbe evident that other forms might be used without departing from thespirit of the invention.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6 will beseen certainlatch mechanism and also latch releasing mechanism. As illustrated in these figures the arm l5 iSPIO-v vided with a slot 3| and with anopening 32. Arm I5 is also provided with stiffening upstanding side flanges 33 and 34. Apin 35 is journaled in these flanges and pivotallysupports the latch or latch lever 36 which when inoperative position.

as shown in Fig. 5 interlocks .with the vehicle. 31. Vehicle 3'! is provided with a socket38 into which the lower end of the lever extends, while the upper end ispivotally connected at 39 .with a latch bar 46., An extension orprojecting member 41 is preferably integralvwith the lever 36 and:

is important injthat. it permits the .vehicle .31.,t0 be automatically coupled .to theprojector.

As shown in Fig. 4,. the latch-.36-ispressing.

against the flange, or abutment. 36, :v on arm 15 and is in what may be termed ,an inoperative. position readyto becoupled to a vehicle. When the vehicle 31 as shown in Fig.4 in moved .over,

to the right, the upstanding flange 42 will strike lever 4| and quickly swingqthe parts to the position shown in Fig.5.

will act to release the slide 43whereby thespring 44 can quickly move the same to, theposition.

shown in Fig. 5. This wil1 .-Dermi t thev retractile spring 45 to quickly swing downwardlvthe lock-;-

ing lever 46 to its functioning positionasshown .in Fig. 5. Itwill bev noted thatthi'sleverisprovided with a stifiening, webA'I and-.on theoppoe site sidewith a cam or offset 48;anda notch. 49.-

The locking lever 46- is-pivotally mounted at 54 on the bracket 36 which-as heretofore stated is rigidly secured to the arm l5. Spring is supported by a guiding pin or rod 55 which slid-- ingly extends through the bracket 56 and which is connected with bracket 51 secured to slide by a suitable pin 58. vA journal pin'59is bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to slide 43 so as to project therebelow. This pin carries a rotatable bearing sleeve .60 so. as to reduce friction when the deflecting rail 6| strikes the same. This rail" This will automatically. move the bar 40 to its operative position and also is prererably formed integral with a vertically sliding plate 62 carried by a suitable bracket 63. This plate and associated parts forms the releasing mechanism and is shown particularly in Figs. 4 to 9 inclusive. The bracket 63 is stationary and is mounted on the framework 26 in any suitable way and is provided with bars 64 which coact with the main part of the bracket to provide a slideway-for. the plate 62. This plate is formed with an enlargement 65 adapted to fit into the socket 66 when plate 62 is in a lowered position, but to be supported by the lever 6'! when in an operative .position.

As shown inFig. 1, the lever 9 is connected with rod68 so as to reciprocate this rod. Rod 68..is connectedlto rod 69 through a bell crank lever 10 and rod 69 (Fig. 4) is pivotally connected to alever. "having. an actuating extension 12. Extension 12 is adapted to be swung from the full line position shown in Fig. 8 to the dotted position and then back to the full line position. It will. be noted that the extension 12 presses againstthe lever extension 13 which is pivotally mounted at 14 on the swinging arm 15 which in turn is pivotally mounted at 16 on the support 11 which is connected with the frame 26=and which supports the lever extension 13. A spring 18 acts to normally hold the bottom part of the lever extension 13 against the lever 15 but permits the same .to swing in one direction away from lever 15. When the extension 12 is moved to engage the bottom of :lever extension 13 andi the moveinent is continued to the dotted position. shownin Fig. 8, the members 13 and 15 will be; raised and also the slide 62 will be raised to substantially the position shown in Fig. 4. The lower end of slide 62 is notched or slotted at 19 so as to permit extension 12 to return and strike the upper surface of lever extension 13 which yields byreason of. its swingable mounting so that the partseventually assume the position shown in Fig.8.

However, the slide 62 is left in its elevated. position byreason of the lever 61. This lever,. as shownparticularly in Fig. 9, is pivotally mounted at 80 and is acted upon by the spring M to swingthe same to the right or to the position shown in Fig. 4 .whereby the lever will be positionedbeneath the extension 65 of slide 62. The lever 61 is provided with a laterally extending projection 82 having an upstanding wall 83. When lever-=9 shown in Fig.1 is pulled over to one of :its extreme positions extension 12 will be moved over to the. dotted position shown in Fig.8 and slide 62 and associated parts -will be 6 elevated to the position shown in Fig. 4 where they are held by the lever 61. They remain in thisposition until the roller 660i the next arm l5 strikes the rail 6|. The rail 6| is positioned. at an angle to the normal travel of the roller 6|] 3 as shown in Fig. 2, and consequently the roller 60, slide 43 and associated parts are moved radially inwardly to'the position shown in Fig. 4. Immediately after this has taken place the roller wi-ll strike the wall 83 and swing the same to the left-asshownin Fig.9 whereby lever 61 will be--moved -from beneath the enlargement This will permit slide 62 to drop down to the position shown in Fig. 8 under the action of gravity. In this way the rail 6| is moved out-ofthe way of the next arm 15 and associated parts. When the roller 66 first strikes the "rail 6| it will pull the slide 63 and pin, 52 to the right as shown 'in "Fig.5 without affectin'g the latch 36.

This result is secured by reason of the fact that-'75:?

pin 52 is moving in slot 53. This action continues until the roller 5| acting on the abutment or cam 48 raises the locking lever 46 for disengaging the pin 50 from the hook or notch 49. The disengagement takes place approximately at the same time that the pin 52 reaches the right hand end of the slot 53 as shown in Fig. 5. The continued movement of the slide 43 and associated parts will then quickly pull the latch lever 36 to a disengaged position and the weighted lever 84 secured to shaft 35 will be permitted to move the parts past dead center as shown in Fig. 4. This will prevent spring 44 from moving slide 43 forwardly any further than the length of slot 53. The parts remain in this position until the next vehicle 31 strikes the extension 4|. It will therefore be seen that when lever 9 in Fig. 1 is swung over to one of its extreme positions rail 6| will be elevated to unlatch the latch mechanism on the next arm [5 which approaches the same. As soon as the latch mechanism has been released the rail BI and associated parts are released so as to automatically move to a nonfunctioning position. The operator may, if he desires, release the next car immediately or may wait for a desired time so as to space the cars or vehicles as they move over the runway 3.

While the guy members or rods 29 may be used to support the outer part of the projector, preferably there is provided a supporting roller 85 with a suitable bracket at the outer end of each of the arms l5. These rollers operate on the platform 2 so as to accurately support the outer end of the arm so that the latch or latch lever 36 may always function properly. While the internal gear latch 20 and associated parts have been set forth as a desirable form of driving mechanism, it will be evident that other forms may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also it will be evident that the release mechanism shown in Figs. 4, 7, 8 and 9 is fixed in a given position so that the various vehicles are always released at a given point although they may be released with different degrees of momentum. In case it is desired to release the vehicles at a different point it will be necessary to shift the bracket 63 and associated parts to a new position. By thus fixing the point where the vehicles are to be released the operator can make no mistake when releasing a vehicle as the parts will automatically function to release the vehicle at the proper point whereby the vehicle is projected along the entrance to the runway 3.

I claim:

1. In an amusement ride, a support, a rotatable projector having a plurality of projecting arms carried by said support, a latch mechanism on the outer end of each of said arms for detachably connecting a vehicle thereto, said latch mechanism including a vehicle engaging member pivotally mounted on said arm to swing in a vertical plane, a slide carried by said arm, a latch bar pivotally connected at one end to one end of said vehicle engaging members and at the other end to said slide for retaining said vehicle engaging member in a vehicle engaging position, means carried by said arm for maintaining said latch bar in functioning position, means carried by said vehicle engaging means, coacting with said latch bar for retaining the vehicle engaging member in a non-engaging position, manually actuated means carried by said support for causing said latch bar and associated parts to move said vehicle engaging member to a released 3 position, and means carried by said vehicle engaging member actuated by a vehicle as it approaches said projecting arm for moving said vehicle engaging member, the latch bar and associated parts to functioning positions.

2. An amusement ride comprising a revolvable projector, a latch mechanism carried by said projector including a movable vehicle engaging member for detachably connecting a vehicle to said projector, said latch mechanism including a sliding latch bar pivotally connected at one end to one end of said vehicle engaging member, a pin extending from said latch bar intermediate its length, means carried by said projector including a pivotally mounted hookshaped locking arm engaging said pin for locking said latch bar against independent movement, and spring means carried by said projector acting on said locking arm to prevent accidental movement thereof.

3. An amusement ride comprising a revolvable projector, a latch mechanism for detachably connecting a vehicle to said projector, said latch mechanism including a latch lever pivotally mounted on said projector to swing in a vertical plane, a latch bar having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of said vehicle engaging member, a slide carried by said projector, means for pivotally and slidingly connecting the other end of said latch bar to said slide, a pin connected to said latch bar intermediate its length, and a locking member pivotally mounted on said projector formed with means interlocking with said pin and. said slide for preventing movement thereof when the locking member is in functioning position.

4. An amusement ride comprising a support, a revolvable projector, a latch carried by said projector for detachably connecting a vehicle to said projector, said latch having a projecting arm positioned to engage and be moved by a vehicle as it approaches the projector for moving said latch into functioning position, means carried by said projector for locking said latch in functioning position, and manually actuated means carried by said support for moving the first mentioned means and said latch to non-functioning position.

5. An amusement ride comprising a rotatable projector, a latch for detachably connecting a.-

vehicle to said projector, said latch including a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on said projector, a latch bar provided with a pin and having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of said lever, said latch bar at the other end having a longitudinally positioned slot, a slide carried by said projector, a pin carried by said slide positioned to project through said slot whereby there will be an independent movement between said slide and said latch bar to the extent of the length of said slot, and a swinging locking arm carried by said projector provided with means engaging said slide to prevent movement thereof in one direction, and means carried by said projector engaging said pin for preventing movement of said latch bar in either direction.

6. An amusement ride comprising a projector provided with an arm movable in a horizontal plane so that the outer end will describe a circle, a latch carried on the outer end of said arm for releasably connecting a vehicle thereto, means carried by said arm for locking said latch in functioning position, and means carried by said arm actuated by a vehicle approaching the outer end of said arm for moving the latch from a nonfunctioning to a functioning position.

7. An amusement ride comprising a projector provided with an arm movable in a horizontal plane so that the outer end will describe a circle, a latch carried by said outer end for releasably connecting a vehicle thereto, an extending arm carried by said latch adaptedto be actuated by a vehicle approaching the projector for moving the latch from a non-functioning position to a functioning position, and means carried by said arm automatically moving into functioning position for locking said latch in functioning position as soon as said approaching vehicle has actuated said extending arm.

;.8. An amusement ride comprising a projector provided with an arm movable in a horizontal plane so that the outer end will describe a circle, a latch releasably connecting a vehicle to said arm, a pivot pin carried by said arm for pivotally supporting said latch, said latch being swingable to a functioning from a non-functioning position and the reverse, a weight connected with said pivot pin for normally holding said latch in nonfunctioning position, a swing lock carried by said arm for positively locking said latch in functioning position, and a spring connected with said arm and said swing for moving said lock quickly 'to a locked position as soon as said latch reaches a functioning position.

9. An amusement ride including an arm movable so that the outer end will describe a circle, a latch lever carried by said outer end for releasably connecting a vehicle to the lower end of said arm, a latch bar having one end pivotally connected to the upper end of said latch lever, said latch bar having a longitudinally extending slot at the other end, a slide carried by said arm, a pin extending from said arm projecting through said slot, a pin carried by said latch bar, a locking lever pivotally mounted on said arm, said locking lever having an abutment and a notch, a roller mounted on the pin carried by said slide, a retractile spring connected at one end to said arm and at the other end to said locking lever functioning to swing said locking lever until said abutment rests against said roller and said notch accommodates the pin on said latch bar for locking the bar against movement, a second spring carried by said arm acting to move said slide to a position whereby said locking lever may function, and manually actuated means for causing said slide to move against said second spring for causing said roller to press the abutment on said locking lever and raise the same to a non-functioning position whereby said latch and latch bar will be released.

10. An amusement ride comprising a platform, a projector formed with an arm movable in a horizontal plane so that the outer end will describe a circle, a latch carried by said outer end for releasably connecting a vehicle to said arm, means carried by said arm for normally holding said latch in functioning position, means slidably carried by said arm for causing the first mentioned means to move to a released position, said last mentioned means including a depending member and manually actuated means carried by said platform for moving said depending member along said arm, said manually actuated means including a vertical slide provided with a projection, a support carried by said platform, a spring-pressed arm carried by said support positioned to move beneath said projection for supporting said slide in a raised position, an articulated member carried by said support for engaging the lower end of said slide and raising said slide, said slide at the lower end having a slot, and a swinging lever carried by said support positioned to engage and swing said articulated member in a direction for causing said articulated member to raise said slide, said swinging lever being adapted to move back to its starting point through the slot in saidslide ready for a second actuation. 1

11. An amusement ride comprising a floor space, a vehicle provided with a socket, a revolving projector having a projecting arm adapted to have its outer end moving in a circle, latch means releasably connecting said vehicle to said projector, said latch means including a latch lever carried at the outer end of said projecting arm, a reciprocating and pivoted latch bar carried by said pro ecting arm for moving the latch lever into and out of said socket, a swinging locking arm carried by said projecting arm for locking said latch lever against independent movement and manually actuated means carried by said floor space for moving said locking arm in a nonfunctioning position to release the vehicle from said projector so that the vehicle will beiree to move under its own momentum over said floor space.

HARRY WI'I'I. 

